As No. 8 Notre Dame begins to prepare for the No. 24 Army Black Knights, here are some closing thoughts regarding the Irish's performance in their 35-14 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers on Senior Day.
Photo by Notre Dame Athletics
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Yesterday was the first instance in which Notre Dame looked to have stalled in the span of their eight-game win streak. Luckily for the Irish, the result was still good enough to muster a dominant 21-point victory and remain perfect against their semi-conference opponents.
With that being said, here are six takeaways from Notre Dame's last game, potentially, inside Notre Dame Stadium.
Xavier Watts ends his playing career inside Notre Dame Stadium with a bang. The Bronco Nagurski winning safety has had a well-documented resilient career. From multiple position changes in his time in South Bend, Watts discovered a newfound home anchoring the Notre Dame secondary. Watts' game epitomized his career for the Fighting Irish: consistently being in the right spot. Watts had a pass breakup, recovered a fumble, and added to his interception collection, bringing his season tally to four.
Watts has established himself as one of Notre Dame's best safeties in recent memory. While Kyle Hamilton and Harrison Smith might take exception to that, the Omaha, NE standout has had a multiple award-worthy season.
The kicking game is atrocious. Mitch Jeter is still visibly injured, as his PATs are lacking height and haven't looked smooth. As a result, Jeter still isn't cleared to kick any field goals, but the Irish haven't found a reliable answer. Zac Yoakam missed a 36-yard kick, and Marcello Diomede missed his first kick of the year from 54 yards.
I'm not sure if Marcus Freeman has to pull a card from Kenny Dillingham's deck, as the Arizona State coach had opened walk-on tryouts earlier this year, or if Freeman can find the next Brandon Aubrey from the Notre Dame men's soccer team. Regardless of the process, Notre Dame needs a reliable kicker in December.
Jeremiyah Love breakout game. The sophomore running back from St. Louis, MO. recorded his single-game high in yards with 137 yards and two touchdowns. I received some backlash on Twitter for a statement I made regarding the necessity for the Fighting Irish to retain Love. For the first time in the NIL era, Notre Dame doesn't appear to be actively pursuing a transfer portal quarterback. Knowing this, I recommend the Irish allocate this funding towards keeping Love in an Irish uniform. Assuming SEC powers won't try to lure Love with lucrative NIL deals would be naive. While Notre Dame has shown a willingness to spend money in this era, this will still be a situation to monitor. Just look at Quinshon Judkins. Ole Miss is quite possibly the most heavily integrated NIL program, and their star running back last year still walked away for the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Notre Dame is rising into college football's elite, SEC powers remain a formidable force. In this case, Love is the type of player that elevates Notre Dame into that next level. His speed, strength, and field vision will only improve as he continues to mature, and he is the key to the Fighting Irish offensive attack.
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Riley Leonard rarely seems comfortable from the get-go. While the Fighting Irish scored on their first drive, after starting on the plus-25 due to former Notre Dame running back and wide receiver Chris Tyree fumbling the opening kickoff, Notre Dame had four consecutive three-and-outs. Penalties disrupted these drives, and Leonard didn’t find his rhythm until the fifth drive of the game.
Against playoff caliber teams, Notre Dame must be locked and loaded from the first snap of the game, and in the near future against Army, every possession matters versus the Black Knights because they will chew the clock. Once he settled in, Leonard looked impressive, but his best throw of the season, a 78-yard touchdown to Jayden Harrison, got called back because of an illegal hands to the face penalty on Pat Coogan.
The offensive line had their shakiest performance of the season outside of week one against Texas A&M. The Virginia front was able to get constant pressure on Leonard in the first half of the game, and there was no real push in the running department early on. With that being said, the unit's play drastically increased in the second half, as they opened a giant hole for Jeremiyah Love on his 76-yard touchdown.
However, as a whole, Notre Dame is going to lean on the rushing attack, and in turn this offensive line. With how much turmoil the line has faced due to injuries, they were still nominated for the Joe Moore Award. The line will have to play to that pedigree for the remaining two games, especially against a stout Army defense.
Defensive dominance travels. No matter where Notre Dame goes to play, they have the security blanket of Al Golden's masterclass defensive unit. The group consistently continues to impress, and it has a new group of heroes every week.
Donovan Hinish played great amid Howard Cross' ankle injury and Leonard Moore has continued to shine in lieu of Benjamin Morrison's season-ending hip injury. Whatever young player gets plugged into these key roles, they are performing. Even though the Fighting Irish defense gave up two touchdowns, one of which was jumpstarted from an incomplete pass that was called a catch, the unit continues to deliver every week.
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